A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to articles and implements used to facilitate the handling and disposal of branches trimmed from trees or shrubs. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus that facilitates baling tree or shrub prunings into bundles sufficiently compact to permit an individual to conveniently transport and dispose of the prunings.
B. Description of Background Art
Branches pruned or cut from trees or shrubs can be somewhat of a nuisance to handle and dispose of. Thus, homeowners as well as professional tree trimmers and gardeners are confronted with the problem of bundling stacks of bulky, irregularly-shaped tree or shrub branches into bundles which are sufficiently compact to allow them to be picked up by hand and transported to a disposal site or truck with reasonable convenience.
One method of bundling prunings which is in common use consists simply of looping a length of twine or rope around a pile of branches, tightening the loop to compact the pile into a roughly cylindrically-shaped bundle, and tying the ends of the rope into a knot to secure the bundle. Oftentimes, especially when bundling prunings that are relatively long, two ropes or cords, one at each end of the bundle, must be used to secure the bundle in a compacted state. A disadvantage of this method of compacting bundles for prunings it that it often requires substantial tension to be exerted in the tie rope to compress the bundle to a desired size. Thus, people with limited physical strength cannot conveniently use this method to compress prunings into small bundles. Also, since the amount of tension required to compress a bundle of prunings is greater than that required to retain the bundle in a compressed state, the rope used to compact as well as secure a bundle must be substantially stronger than that required for merely securing the bundle at a desired girth.
The following two United States Patents disclose devices which may be used to compact tree trimmings.
Knutsen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,355, Jul. 16,1986 discloses an apparatus for compacting a stack of tree limbs to facilitate sawing the limbs which uses a windlass having two cables.
Gray, U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,765, Mar. 1, 1994 discloses a device for applying a radial compression force on a stack of tree trimmings to compact the stack, facilitating carrying the stack or lying a rope around the stack to retain its compacted shape.
Other references know by the present inventor to relate generally to his invention include the following U.S. Patents: Richmond, U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,099, Jan. 31, 1984, Tensioning Apparatus; Backmore et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,776, Jan. 6, 1987, Branchy Compactor; Rampe et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,700, May 9, 1989, Method And Apparatus For Wrapping Round Bales; Pope, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,203, Feb. 13, 1990, Load-Tie-Down System And Winch Assembly; Shuker, U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,232, Jun. 2, 1992, Quick Tie; and Shuker, U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,298, Aug. 10, 1993, Quick Tie Load Binding System.
All of the references know by the present inventor to be related generally to the problem of compacting bundles of prunings are of rather specialized designs which limit their suitability for general purpose use by gardeners and homeowners. At best, compacting and securing piles of tree or shrub prunings into reasonably manageable bundles by prior art methods can be an annoying and time consuming task The present invention was conceived of to provide a low-cost apparatus for baling tree and shrub prunings which may be easily stored and transported and which overcomes certain limitations inherent in prior art devices while providing additional advantageous features over prior art devices.